Bindi Behemoth

Greetings! It has been a while since I posted, but today I did a fun project that I wanted to share with you. As some of you know, I have been making the annual pilgrimage to Burning Man for a few years. One of the 10 principles of Burning Man is Gifting. Gifting is different from barter or trade, because nothing in return is expected. Giving a spontaneous gift brings joy to both the giver and the receiver. So my gift this year, which I am doing in collaboration with my crafty partner Autumn Feldmeier, is Big Behemoth Bindis. Everything at Burning Man is larger than life, and these bindis are no exception. While it's not an official Burning Man principle, many participants at the event do utilize recycled materials in their projects, costumes, and art installations. I wanted to create gifts from something old or unloved and give them new life!
I began with a pile of broken and mismatched vintage jewelry that I got on Etsy. I disassembled it into usable bindi parts and then affixed the bits to a vinyl backing, and then embellished with acrylic rhinestones and Swarovski crystals. It's a simple project, which really requires no more than some mismatched/broken/old/vintage jewelry, needle nosed pliers for taking apart the jewelry, clear vinyl, E6000 glue, and some rhinestones to embellish with.

Several hours later, a somewhat junky pile of old jewelry becomes extravagant bindis, sparkling and ready to adorn the Third Eye, our creative center. You can affix a bindi with eyelash glue, spirit gum, or a professional cosmetic adhesive such as Prosaide.

So you really like these, but don't have the patience/time/materials/bifocals to make them? Not to worry! I am selling a few of these bindis on Etsy. Your purchase of them will go toward my Burning Man gift-making fund, which helps to offset the cost of materials. I'm so excited about gifting these. I hope to give away at least 50-75 hand-crafted bindis on the Playa this year. Visit my Etsy Shop!